“Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that set at the table with him.

Then took Mary a pound of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour (fragrance) of the ointment.  

Then said one of his disciples. Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should (would) betray him,

 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor.

This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein (he took care of the money bag and stole from it).

Then Jesus said, Let her alone against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you. but me ye have not always.”  John 12:1-8

So much going on here, we get a great glimpse of the moral character of Judas.

Even before he sold Jesus, he was stealing from them.

From the very beginning that he joined them he was dishonest he didn’t care about Jesus, the lost, and most certainly not the kingdom of God.

He chose to malign and belittle Mary as a cover for his own actions. Expressing his pretend outrage over such “waste”.

He was wicked and mad that she had used her ointment to anoint Jesus, rather than selling it, not to work for the poor, but to line his own pockets. She was anointing Jesus for his burial, and no one caught that statement.

Let’s talk about her for a moment, she had been through terrible things in her life, she fought through the condemnation spewed at her by others, she chose to follow the faith in her heart that led her to the feet of Jesus.

The Bible doesn’t tell us, not that I have ever been able to find, her exact story but you know for her to have such pain and sorrow, it had to be really traumatic events that left her so damaged that he cast seven demons out of her also.

The wages of an entire year were the value of Mary’s spikenard.

It’s often conjectured that she was a prostitute, especially considering Simion’s rant to himself. that Jesus heard and corrected him about.

So, both times that she anointed Jesus, it was in the presence of wicked men with hidden agendas concerning Jesus. And both times he defended her,

I don’t care what she had been, I am very excited to meet her one day. She had such courage and faith and the stories of her are a roadmap to us in having faith also in face of those who would belittle and mock us for doing so.

She is the picture of worship in the presence of the Lord.

Song of Solomon: 1:12: “When the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.”

That beautiful praise to him, in humility and awe of who he is, as it brings his presence, and that spiritual aroma will truly fill the spiritual house, and his peace will fill our natural home as we seek and honor him.

Psalms 45:7,8: ” Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (above all others)

All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory places, whereby they have made thee glad.”

That is describing the beauty of Jesus and the joy of his presence, the myrrh symbolic of purification, and self-denial, the cassia for such servitude that it requires being completely stripped of all pride.

Praise is so powerful that is will literally transform your environment and bless those around you.

Notice the role of praise in this verse, note that it covers us as spiritual clothing, literally covering us and protecting us from heaviness, depression, sadness. Times of feeling forlorn without any identifiable reason.

Praise will lift those negative emotions that sometimes try to invade and overtake.

Isaiah 61:3: ” To appoint (give) unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

We see two very different actions from two people who were part of his Innercircle, while he was on earth. It is a scenario common for us on earth, those who are truly for us and those who are secretly against.

Use this story today in your own life to help understand any and all who maybe have darkened your view of Christianity,

Actions of those who are not true is the biggest harm and obstacle to those who are truly seeking Christ.

All that glitters is not gold, as the saying goes, and those who profess Christ and treat others terribly are not golden and they are not truly of God.

Please take your cue from Mary and put no thought into the Judas’, those who mock trying to convince us all that we are wasting our time seeking Christ.

God will always take care of the problems, and the day is coming when it will be known the universe over who it was that really wasted their time, and it will not be those who chose to follow Christ!

Thank you for reading! Have a blessed day!

NBJ 2024/Rev. N Brown Johnson